cabbll



v(No Model.)

S. CT'. CABELL.

- Oil Cup.

Patentedreb. s, 1881.

SMA/wwf,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL eQcABELL, E WASHINGTON, DISTRICT oEooLUMBIA, AssIcNoE To ELoEA E. GABELL, or sAME PLAGE.

OIL-CUP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 237,660, 'dated February 8, 1881.

Application filed January 12, 1881.` (No model.)

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that I, SAMUEL G. GAB-ELL, of Washington, in the county of Washington and District `of Columbia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Oil- Cups; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description ot' the saine, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specifica- Io tion, in which- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of the invention Fig. 2, a detail view,

showing the application of a supplementary7 oil-reservoir 5 Fig. 3, a -t'op view of the yoke. Fig.4 is a view showing the application of the invention to the steam-chest of a locomotive. Fig. 5 is a View of a modified arrangement for feeding the oil in under the piston.

Similar letters of reference in the several tig- '.zo ures denote the same parts.

My-invention has for its object to prov-ide an limproved oi1-cup for introducing oil into the steam chests and cylinders of steam-em gines, particularly locomotive-engines, for the purpose of properlyT lubricating the valves, pistons, 83e., in such parts, and which shall-be adapted to feed automatically a constant and uniform supply of oil, and also to beso ad jjusted as to regulate accurately the quantity of 'oil thus fed.

' To this end Iny invention consists, broadly, in an oil-chamber jacketed and heated by steam to prevent condensation, having a piston operated by gravity or other equivalent 3 5 force to insure the feeding of the oil, with -oi1 supply and discharge openings or passages, and with suitable provision for substantially balancing the steam-pressure on each side of the piston.

It furth er con sists in an oil-ehamberjacketed and heated by steam, a piston arrangedin said chamber, a passage or passages leading from below the piston to the steam-chest, and a passage or passages for admitting steam above the pistonY It further consists of an oil cup or chamber arranged within au outer casin g or shell, so as to leave a steam-space between the two communicating with the steam-chest or part to be 5o iubricated, a piston ada-pied to t within said oil-chamber, and passages leading from the steam4space to the oil-chamber above and below said piston.

It further consists in the provision of means for regulating the steampressure on the piston.

1t further consists in a novel arrangement for supplying oil to the oil-chamber.

, It further consists ot' certain other novel details of construction; and it consists, lastly, 6o I in an improvement in the art of lubricating, all which will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawin gs,A represents au OiLchaInber; B, an outer case or shell surrounding the same, with 'a steam-space, C, be- 65 tween the two, as shown. The case or shell B vis provided with a tubular stem, b, which is preferably screw-threaded externallyto adapt it to-be screwed to the steam-chest ot'an engine.` Within the oil-chamber is arranged a closely- 7o tting piston, D, having a tubular stem, d, which extends up through the cap A of the oil-chamber and through an ordinary packing-gland, d. Thev upper end of the pistonstem is cup-shaped and flanged, and the cup' 75 shaped portion d2 is covered by a cap, E,which is swiveled to au adjusting-screw, 11, working through a yoke, G. The yoke G is provided at lone end with a perforation, g, and at the other with a slot, g', as shown in Fig. 3, and ascrew, 8o g2, passes through the perforation g, and, in connection with another screw, g3, which engages With thev slot g', serves to secure the yoke to the flange d3. By loosening the screw g3 the yoke may be turned around on the screw 8 5 g2 as a pivot, carrying with it the swiveled cap E, so as to enable oil to be poured into the cup-shaped part d2 to fill the oil-chamber. A small tube, V, supported at its upper end by a cross-bar, V', extends down through the 9o piston-stem into the oil-chamber, and affords a vent for the escape of air from the latter when filling in the oil.

I is a passage extending from at or near the bottom of the oil-chamber below the piston, preferably up through `the wall of the said chamber to near the top thereof, and thence downward a short distance and opening into the steam-space, C. A valve, I', controls the opening and closing of said passage. roo

J is another passage, of larger bore than passage I, leading from the steam-space C to the upper partot' the oilchamber above the piston, and having a valve, J', as shown. -K is a pet-cock arranged in the cap of the oilchamber.

The device being connected to the steamchest of an engine'and the valves l' J closed, the pet-cock K is opened and the piston is drawn to the top ot' the oil-chamber into the position shown in Fig. 1. The pet-cock is then closed again, the yoke G swung around, and oil poured into the cup-shaped part d2 until the oil-chamber below the piston, as well as' the tubular piston-stein, is lil-led. The yoke Gr is then swung back and secured and the swiveled cap E clamped tightly to its seat by the adjusting-screw F. The valves I and J are then opened, so that by the pressure of steam on opposite sides ofthe pistonexerted on the one hand through the passage I and ou the other through the passage J-the oil therein andin the body ofthe oil-ch amber will be counterbalanced, and thus enable the mere weight of the piston and its connections to cause the piston to descend and feed the oil slowly but uniformly from the passage I into the steamspace C, and thence into the steam-chest; or the valve J may be opened, so as to give a greater and overbalancing pressure of -steam on the upper surface of the piston, and thus cause the latter to descend by such overhalancing pressure, in addition to its weight; but whether the mere weight of the piston or the overbalancing pressure of steam be relied upon toveit'ect the descent of the piston, the quantity of oilfed into the steam-space can be regulated by the proper adjustment of the valves I and J,as will be readily understood. The piston gradually descends until all the oil is forced out of the oil-chamber, whereupon the valves l J are closed, the pet-cock K again opened to let out the steam above the piston, the yoke Gr swung around, the cap E lifted, and the piston again raised to the top ot' the chamber, whereupon the chamber is relled as before.

The outer case or shell, B, it will be observed, is made in two parts, b b2, united by a screw-connection, and the oil-eh amber and part b are both preferably cast together in one piece. The lower part, b2, of the case is made concave, so as to collect the oil fed to the steamspace and direct it into the tubular central stem at thebottoin. l

By surrounding` the voil-chamber with the steam-space it is kept highly heated and condensation of steam within it is prevented.

'lo not, of course, desire to confine myself t0 my special form or dimensions of parts, as they may Us varied to suit the ideas of the COUSWCGI- When more than the usual quantity of oil is required for one rim a supplemcntary oil-reservoir, S, (shownin Fig. 2,) Amay be screwed onto a screw-neck, a, on the up` per endof the piston-stem; but ordinarily the use ot' such supplementary reservoir will not be necessary.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modification of the means for feeding the oil into the oil-chamberv under the piston, wherein the hollow pistonstem is stationary and the piston only moves, a suitable vent pipe or pipes, V2, bein gattach ed to the piston for permitting the escape of air in filling.

The method of oilingautomatically by means of the oil-oups in present use on locomotives is defective, because no'oil is fed when the steam is eut off from the steamfchestand the locomotive is ruiming downgrade; but the parts, not being lubricated even by the steam, become dry and rub, and soon wear so much as to require replacement. NVit-h a view to remedying this defect I have discovered what I deem a radical improvement in thc art ot' oiling, which improvement I am enabled to readily carry out by the aid of my oil-cup herein described. lt has been seen that the auto matic operation ot' said oil-cup is effected by the pressure of the steam in the steam-chest, and it is therefore apparent that when the steam is cut ott the oil will cease to be fed unless some means of maintaining a pressure in the steamchest be provided. discovered that by simply reversing the valves by the ordinary appliances, after the steam has been cut oli', so that the piston in the cylinder, instead of exhausting or drawing from the steam-chest, will pump air into the same, a pressure of air will be maintained in the steam-chest sufficient to operate the oiling devices and secure the requisite feed of oil.

' The value of this improvement and discovery will at once be appreciated by locomotive engineers, for, however long the grade may be down which the locomotive is ruiming `with steam cut oli", a proper quantity of oil will be constantly supplied'by the oil-cup for the cfiicient lubrication of the valves, Sac.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new l. In an oil-cup, an oil-chamber jacketed and heated by steam to prevent condensation, and. having a piston operated by gravity or other equivalent force to insure the feeding of the oil, with oil supply and discharge openings or passages, and, with suitable provision for substantiallybalancing the steanrpressure on cach side otA the pistou, substantially as described.

2. In an oil-cup, an oil-chamber jacketed and heated by steam, a piston adapted to iit within said chamber, a passage or passages leading from said chamber below the piston to the steanrchest or part to be lubricated,

and a passage or passages for the admission of steam above said piston, substantially as described.

3. In an oil-cup, an oil-chamber arranged within an outer casing or shell, so as to leave a steam-space between the two communicating with the steam-chest or part to be lubri- Now, I have Ido IIO

cated, a piston adapted to it within said chamber, and passages leading from the steamspace to the oil-chamber above and below said piston, substantially as described.

4. In an oil-cup, an oil-chamber arranged within au outer casing or shell, so as to leave a steam-space between the two, a piston adapted to fit Within said oil-chamber. means for feeding oil into the oil-chamber below the piston, and .passages leading from the oil-chamber above and below the piston to the steamchest or part to be lubricated, substantially as described.

5. In an oil-cup, an oil-chamber jacketed Vand heated by steam, a piston adapted to [it within `said chamber, a passage or passagesleading from the lower part oi' said chamber to the steam-chest or part to be lubricated, a passage or passages leading to the upper part of said chamber for the admission of. steam to the upper side of the piston, and valves for opening and closing said passages more or less, at will, to regulate the quantity of oil fed, substantially as described. g

6. The combination of the oil-chamber, the pistou having the tubular stem, and the ventpipe, substantially as described.

7. The oil-chamber inclosed by the outer casing or shell, and having the Valvedpassage leading above the piston to the steamspacerand the valved passage leading from below the piston up through its vertical wall an d thence in to the steam-space, substantial] y as described, for the purpose speciied.

8. The herein-described discovery land improvement in the art of lubricating the wearing-surfaces of locomotive steam-engines and other similar engines-to wit, by the employment of' a lubricating mechanism normally operatin g under a substantially-balanced steampressure, in the manner substantially as herein described, and, when the locomotive is running with the lthrottle-valve closed, reversing .the valves so as to cause the engine to substitute a balanced air-pressureupon thelubri- 'eating mechanism 'in place of the norm al steampressure, substantially as herein set forth.

SAMUEL G. CABELL.

Witnesses MELVILLE CHURCH, FRED. F. CHURCH. 

